]\ffE]KOI*LffIi My, 
]VEay 30, lSpg. 



WASHINGTON SQUARE, 



REV. GEORGE D. BAKER, D.D., PASTOR. 



SPECIAL UNION SERVICE OF PRAYER 

FOR OUR COUNTRY, OUR RULERS, AND FOR 
OUR ARMY AND NAVY. 



PHILADELPHIA : 
PRESS OF HENRY B. ASH MEAD, 
1102 and 1104 Saksom Street. 



45" 



10623 

If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever 
thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the Lord toward the city 
which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for 
thy name ; then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their suppli- 
cation, and maintain their cause. — 1 Kings 8 : 44, 45. 



Memorial Day-Special Service. 

MAY 30, 1898, MONDAY, 11 A.M. 



ORGAN PRELUDE. 

Andante from Pastoral Sonata, .... Beethoven. 

DOXOLOGY. 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ; 
Praise Him, all creatures here below ; 
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host : 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

INVOCATION. 

EEV. WILLIAM M. BAUM, D.D., 

Pastor St. Matthew's Lutheran Church. 

Let us come before the Lord Avith thanksgivings, let us enter 
into His presence with praises. Great is the Lord and greatly to 
be feared, to be had in reverence by all them that are about Him. 
Draw nigh unto us, Almighty God. Grant a Pentecostal out- 
pouring of the Holy Spirit. Fill all our hearts and minds as 
the light of day fills the air about us. Fill all this place and all 
places with thy presence. Lord God, our Father in heaven, 
have mercy upon us. Son of God, Redeemer of the world, have 
mercy upon us. Holy Spirit of the Father and of the Son, have 
mercy upon us, and grant us thy peace. Glory be to the Father, 
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the begin- 
ning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, 



READING THE SCRIPTURES. 

REV. PETER H. MILLIKEN, Ph.D., 

Pastor First Reformed Church. 
Psalm XCI. 

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under 
the shadow of the Almighty. 

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God ; in him 
will I trust. 

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the 
noisome pestilence. 

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust : 
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night ; nor for the arrow that 
flieth by day ; 

Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness ; nor for the destruction that 
Avasteth at noonday. 

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand ; but 
it shall not come nigh thee. 

Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 

Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, 
thy habitation ; 

There shall no evil befall ' thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy 
dwelling. 

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a 
stone. 

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon 
shalt thou trample under feet. 

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him : I will 
set him on high, because he hath known my name. 

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him : I will be with him in trouble ; 
I will deliver him, and honor him. 

With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. 



HYMN. 

Before Jehovah's awful throne, 
Ye nations, bow with sacred joy 

Know that the Lord is God alone, 
He can create, and He destrov. 



5 



His sovereign power, without our aid, 

Made us of clay, and formed us men ; 
And when like wandering sheep we strayed, 

He brought us to His fold again. 

We are His people, we His care, 

Our souls, and all our mortal frame ; 
What lasting honors shall we rear, 

Almighty Maker, to Thy Name? 

Wide as the world is Thy command, 

Vast as eternity Thy love ; 
Firm as a rock Thy truth must stand, 

When rolling years shall cease to move. Amen. 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

REV. GEORGE D. BAKER, D.D., 

Pastor of First Presbyterian Church. 

It seemed good to the pastor and elders of this historic church 
that at this most critical hour in our nation's history they should 
ask Christians of all names to gather together beneath this roof, 
and on this memorial day, sacred to the memory of those who 
laid down their lives for their country, supplicate the blessing 
of Almighty God upon our country, upon our fleets and our 
armies. It was the purpose and the endeavor to have represented 
in this service the churches included in the Evangelical Alliance 
of our city. That purpose has almost entirely succeeded. Only 
one or two are wanting, and that of course from no lack of in- 
terest or sympathy with the service, but owing to circumstances 
which were unavoidable. I am deeply grateful to my brethren 
who have so cordially responded to the invitation to participate 
in these services, especially when I knew that for some of them 
it has been difficult to do so because of the many burdens which 
they daily have to bear. May God bless these union services. 
May our hearts flow together truly in the love of God and in 
the love of our country. May He grant us His Holy Spirit in 
fullest measure, and may He so inspire the words of our mouths 



G 



and so govern the meditations of our hearts, that these services 
shall conduce to the welfare of our nation, to the success of our 
arms in what we believe to be a holy cause, and above all to the 
greater glory of His most holy Name. 



ADDRESS. 

RIGHT REV. OZI WILLIAM WHITAKER, D.D., LL.D., 

Protestant Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. 

We are assembled on this Memorial Day amid peculiar and 
unusual conditions. For thirty-two years the lovers of their 
country, men and women, have assembled on this day in mem- 
ory of the brave men who laid down their lives for their coun- 
try's honor, to listen to eulogies upon their character, and to 
keep alive the spirit of devotion to the country by which they 
were animated. That purpose they have accomplished, and 
more than that. Out from the observance of that Memorial 
Day there has spread a hallowing influence over all the people 
of the nation, so that largely to its influence is to be attributed 
the happy fact that of a great majority of the people of the United 
States it may be literally said there is no longer any South 
or North or East or West, but that all are one people. We 
come together to-day , not in a time of peace as heretofore, but 
at a time when the nation is engaged in deadly warfare. We 
come at a time, not when men's hearts are failing them for 
fear, because we believe in the justness of our cause, because 
we believe that the resources which God has put in our power 
will be sufficient, if we use them according to His guidance, 
for the accomplishment of the great end we have in view. 
We come together not for eulogy, but for prayer, — to pray 
ourselves and to encourage each other to pray that the same 
kind Providence which has watched over this nation from its 
beginning will still continue to protect and guide us. We 
come together in the spirit of those immortal words which 



7 



Washington used in his first inaugural : " No people is more 
bound to adore and acknowledge the invisible hand which 
conducts the affairs of men than the people of the United 
States. Every step by which they have advanced towards the 
character of an independent nation has been marked by some 
token of Providential agency." It is in that spirit, believing in 
God, believing that He hears and answers prayer, believing that it 
is through His guidance and support that this nation has come 
to the happy condition to which it has attained, — in that faith 
we come together to pray for His continued blessing and direc- 
tion. 

May I recall a scene that transpired in this city one hun- 
dred and eleven years ago this month, when there was assembled 
in Independence Hall, in the chamber where the Declaration of 
Independence had been made, the Federal Convention charged 
with the duty of preparing a form of government and a constitu- 
tion for the United States ? It was an assemblage of the illus- 
trious men of the time. Mr. Madison says that no body of men 
was ever called together under any circumstances charged with a 
weightier responsibility nor prepared to discharge that obligation 
with a higher sense of conscientiousness than those. They were 
confronted with great questions. The first which arose before 
them was whether they should undertake to amend the Articles 
of Confederation by which the States had thus far been connected, 
or whether they should frame 'an entirely new government. 
That question was not difficult of decision, and it was soon 
decided that a new government should be established, and that 
it should be composed of three co-ordinate parts, the legislative, 
the executive, and the judiciary. It did not take long for 
them to decide that the legislative portion of that government 
should be constituted of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate; but when the question came how the different States 
should be represented in those bodies, then it was found that 
they were divided into two opposing parties, one maintaining 
that that representation should be upon the basis of population 
and proportionate in both, the other maintaining that the States 



8 



should be equally represented in both ; and when it was finally 
proposed that the House of Representatives should be constituted 
upon the basis of population, and that each State should have 
an equal vote in the Senate, then there arose a debate which for 
earnestness and persistence has been seldom equalled. Day after 
day they contended stoutly upon the question which was before 
them, until at last Benjamin Franklin,* then in his eighty-second 
year, rose and said substantially, " I have watched the course of 
this debate with anxiety during the days that have gone by. 
I have heard the illustrations that have been brought from the 
history of other republics which have been established. I have 
listened to the counsel of wise men ; but why is it that in all 
this uncertainty, groping as it were in the dark to find political 
truth, there has been no voice lifted to the Father of Lights 
asking Him to guide us in our deliberations and show us the 
course we ought to pursue ? When this struggle began, and we 
recognized that we were in a position of danger, prayers were 
offered in this chamber every morning for the Divine protection. 
And those prayers were answered. I have lived many years, 
and the longer I live the more firmly I believe that God governs 
in the affairs of men. If a sparrow falls not upon the ground 
without the knowledge of our heavenly Father, how can we 
presume that an empire may rise without His aid? If, as the 
sacred Scriptures teach us, it is in vain that the house is builded 
unless the Lord be the keeper thereof, how can it be hoped that 
this nation can rise to a condition of stability without His con- 
curring help ? I therefore move that prayers be offered hence- 
forth in this assembly every day at its convening, for the guid- 
ance of God upon all our actions." 

In the spirit of that utterance of Franklin have we come 
together to-day, believing that God reigns over all, believing 
that He has guided this nation in the ]3ast, and that He will hear 
the prayers of His people that go up to Him out of earnest hearts, 

* Franklin was for several years a pewholder and regular attendant at the First Pres- 
byterian Church, Philadelphia, during the ministry of Rev. Jedediah Andrews, D.D., the 
first pastor. 



9 



that He will show us the things we ought to do, and that He 
will direct us that we may accomplish them to His glory. We 
can give, and we should give according to our means. We 
should see that every needed thing is furnished for the comfort 
of those who are gone from us, taking their lives in their hands, 
for the defence of their country and for the maintenance of the 
just cause in which this nation is engaged ; but whether we 
can give much or little we can pray, we can lift up hearts in our 
congregations where we meet for worship, we can lift up hearts 
in the privacy of our homes, entreating God to send His blessing 
upon this people, to overrule all things for their true welfare 
and for the advancement of His kingdom in the earth. 

We think of our brethren who have gone forth ; and as we think 
of those who have gone from our family circle, whom we knew 
and loved, let us remember that every man who has gone forth 
has left some family circle, some social ties, that there are hearts 
near and dear to him as these are near and dear to us, and let us 
think of all those who have gone forth as being placed in pecul- 
iar and trying conditions. We see them no more. We think 
of them in the new life into which they have entered, amid 
peculiar temptations, exposed to unusual dangers. We think 
of them "on stormy seas and under burning suns, in the midst 
of treacherous enemies, in the conflict of battle-fields," and we 
lift up our hearts for them. And how should we think of them ? 
How should we think of all that army which has gone forth by 
sea and by land ? How should we think of the President, upon 
whom the awful responsibility rests of being the commander-in- 
chief of the forces of this great nation ? How should we think 
of those who are called to advise with him ? We should think 
of them with earnest solicitude and with devoted prayer. We 
should think of them as they were each speaking to us in words 
like those which Tennyson puts into the mouth of Arthur when 
he said : 

" More things are wrought by prayer 
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice 
Rise like a fountain for me night and day. 



10 



For what are men better than sheep or goats 
That nourish a blind life within the brain, 
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer 
Both for themselves and those who call them friend ? 
For so the whole round earth is every way 
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God." 



ADDRESS. 

REV. CYRUS D. FOSS, D.D,LL.D, 

Resident Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

There is what might be termed a physiological philosophy of 
history, of which Prof. John W. Draper was one of the chief 
exponents, which teaches us that every nation, like every man, 
must of necessity pass through the several stages of birth, infancy, 
childhood, youth, maturity, decay and death ; and this doleful 
philosophy finds some apology for its existence in the spectacle 
of nations, empires, dynasties, strewing the shores of history 
with their wrecks and ruins. But is there no more cheerful 
philosophy than this which may be securely held ? Must we 
anticipate some time when every existing nation shall be a wreck, 
and when other nations and civilizations shall displace the best 
that the world has to-day ? I think not, and soberly hope that 
this flag which adorns and honors this Christian pulpit to-day, 
and that at least one other flag, the royal cross of St. George, will 
float aloft, honored on every sea and respected in every land, until 
they shall perish amid the wreck of all things terrestrial in the 
fires of the last day. On what foundation dare I base so strong 
and optimistic a hope? On God and on His church. I do not 
forget that once a man pleaded with God to save a wicked city, 
and that God at length told him if ten righteous men could be 
found in it He would save that city, and the prayer of one man 
brought forth this condition. Now, if ten righteous men could 
have saved Sodom, ten million, let me rather hope I may say 
from twenty to thirty million, of righteous men may by God's 



11 



blessing save America. We do not believe, if we did we would 
not be here, that the providence of God is, as Napoleon said, 
always on the side of the strongest battalions. It was after that 
that he had his Waterloo ; and concerning that one of the most 
pictorial and able of all writers about it says " a few drops of 
water more or less prostrated Napoleon"; and he goes on to ex- 
plain that on the morning of the fatal day to him, that fateful day 
for all Europe, there was rain, and had been the night before, 
and that Napoleon could not maneuver his cannon on the muddy 
plain until eleven o'clock in the morning. But for that rain he 
would have let loose the dogs of war at daybreak, and would 
have had time, before Blucher could arrive to save the day, to 
have won the day. We believe that is as true now as it was 
when it was first written, and that the age of providence is as 
real for the working of Almighty God among men as the age of 
miracles was, that "the eyes of the Lord run to and fro through- 
out the whole earth, to show Himself strong in behalf of them 
whose heart is perfect towards Him." I heard when I was quite 
a young man the silver-tongued orator of that time, Wendell 
Phillips, in an old-time anti-slavery address in Broadway Taber- 
nacle, New York, say with superb cynicism and irony, " The 
churches, the churches ! If every church on this continent had 
been sunk beneath the earth forty years ago, the cause of human 
freedom would have been further on." But it was only a little 
while after that that a greater man than he, that man raised up 
by God from the people to make possible here on this continent 
"a government of the people, by the people, for the people," said 
in the stress of his great trial in the nation's agony, when a 
deputation of Christian ministers called upon him to pledge the 
loyalty of a large church, " God bless the churches, and blessed 
be God which in our great trial giveth us the churches." So 
said Abraham Lincoln ; and how any man who reads history with 
his eyes open and his mind open can doubt that the hearts of 
kings are in the hand of the Lord, and that He turneth them as 
He will, that all nations are His care, I cannot tell. It has so 
often happened that not the strongest battalions but the holy 



12 



cause has won, with weaker battalions. It has so often happened 
that incidents and events seemingly insignificant and incalculable 
by man have turned the tide of history. Edward Everett said 
that but for the providential inaction of the rebel army on the 
second morning of the battle of Gettysburg the fate of that battle 
would have been the other way ; and yet that must be added to 
Creasy's "Fifteen Decisive Battles in the History of the World " 
as the sixteenth, for then and there the fate of this nation as a 
union was sealed. These suggestions help us to understand that 
we are not here in vain, but are here to call upon a hearing, 
willing, Almighty God who rules among the nations of the earth ; 
and I am sure that we have need to call upon Him, for I do not 
know but that on William McKinley rests and will rest respon- 
sibilities for this nation and for the future of humanity as great 
as rested on George Washington. Great questions are before us. 
We have no question of victory. We have no question that we 
shall win in this struggle. We must, we can, by God's blessing 
we shall ; and I pray that it may be in some, near to-morrow that 
a comparatively bloodless but righteous and lasting peace may 
set our flags waving everywhere and our voices shouting the 
praises of our King. But with that and after that what ? Some 
of our most thoughtful statesmen and profoundest philosophers 
are telling us that the era of our easy and delightful isolation as 
a nation, shut in by the oceans and saved the trouble and respon- 
sibility of taking a hand in the world uplifting that nations must 
have to do with, is passing away; that we must take and hold 
the Philippines, that we must take and hold Porto Rico, that we 
may in spite of our honest declaration and our wish be obliged 
when we take to hold Cuba, and that this nation cannot escape 
a part in the world-responsibility which is on the nations of 
Europe. I do not know about that, but I do feel sure that if in 
the time of Washington and in the time of Franklin it was ex- 
pedient and needful and urgently needful that we must pray, it 
is needful now. God in mercy save us from European compli- 
cations and Asiatic complications which are outside the line of 
our duty, and God grant us in mercy that we may see what our 



13 

duty is; and when it is thrust upon us in the order of His provi- 
dence, which will unfold within the next few months the way in 
which the nation ought to go, God grant us grace to follow that 
path, and also to go down the ages with a record behind us in 
regard to this war and its consequences which our great-grand- 
children may read without a blush, and blessing God that America, 
His care from the beginning to now, has been His care in the 
year of grace in which we live. 

■ 

PRAYER. 

REV. DAVID STEELE, D.D., 

Pastor Fourth Reformed Presbyterian Church. 

Everlasting and ever-living God, we thank thee that in thy 
kind providence we are permitted to come before thee at this hour, 
and to bear upon our spirits the condition and interests of our 
beloved country. We thank thee for this Memorial Day that 
has been observed in the past, and we thank thee that thou hast 
brought us to see it once more, so that as we assemble in thy 
house of prayer at this moment it is our privilege to look up to 
thee for those supplies of grace that thou hast promised to bestow. 
We thank thee, O God, for all the deliverances that thou hast 
wrought in the past for our beloved country ; and now in the day 
of war, and when our fleets are upon the ocean, and when our 
armies are gathering by land, we pray that thou wilt canopy 
those fleets and those armies with thy love and with thy power. 
Our prayer is that thou wilt give in thine own time victory to the 
armies of this nation, as they have gone forth to do battle on 
behalf of humanity, of civilization, of justice, of freedom, and 
of right ; and we pray, Lord, that as thou hast watched over this 
country in the days that are gone by, and as thou hast brought 
it safely through troubles and trials in the past, that thou wilt 
give to it all that is needed now in the hour of danger and of 
expectation. We ask, Almighty God, that thou wilt be gracious 



14 



to the President of this nation. Pour out thy spirit abundantly 
upon him and upon his advisers. Grant that as they are at 
the helm of the affairs of this nation they may guide well and 
wisely the ship of state, so that in due time victory shall perch 
upon the arms of our beloved republic, and the enemy shall be 
turned backward and overthrown. O God, we bless thee that 
thou hast been with thy people in all the ages that are past. 
Thou hast been the hearer of prayer in all the centuries that 
have gone by, and we pray that thou wilt hear our united prayers 
to-day, as we come before thee and supplicate thee on behalf of 
truth, of justice, and of right. We ask, O God, that thou wilt 
be gracious to all those who are in the House of Representatives 
and in the Senate of the United States, so that they may be en- 
abled to discharge their duties faithfully and honorably as the 
representatives of the millions of the land. And, O God, we pray 
that thou wilt pour out thy spirit abundantly upon the church 
of Jesus Christ throughout this land, upon individuals and 
families and communities, so that they may wrestle with God in 
prayer and refuse to let the God of Israel and of Bethel go until 
He bless them and bless the nation. Our Father, we would lift 
up our hearts with our hands and bless thee at the remembrance 
of thy goodness. We thank thee for thine exceeding great and 
precious promises, and we would plead them before thee in faith 
to-day, and we would at the same time humble ourselves in view 
of our sins and our transgressions in the past. Almighty God, 
we pray that thou wilt abase us in thy presence. Show us our 
unworthiness as individuals and as a nation ; and, O Lord, we 
pray that if thou art in any measure chastening us by this war 
that thou wilt chasten us in measure, and grant that the day may 
speedily come when wars shall cease to the ends of the earth. 
We ask, Lord, that thou wilt be with those beloved young men 
and others who have gone out at the call of their country. Be 
with them in the camp. Be with them on the decks of their 
vessels. Lord, be with their friends also who have been called 
upon to part with them, some of whom may not be permitted to 
return again. We plead, Lord, that thou wilt be with them all in 



15 



the day of battle and in the day of peril and danger, and grant 
that if it be thy blessed will the victory may be bloodless, and 
that these our sons and fathers and husbands may be permitted 
to return to us again and live with us in the enjoyment of the 
liberties which thou hast given to us. We ask, Lord, that thou 
wilt pour out thy spirit abundantly and graciously upon all thy 
servants who are here to-day to address us in the name of the 
Lord and to bear us before thee at the throne of thy heavenly 
grace. Let thy rich benediction rest upon the pastor of this 
congregation and upon all who are associated with him in truth, 
and upon all members of this church, and upon all who are now 
in thy presence gathered from different churches in this great 
city. Great God, our eyes are lifted up to thee at this hour, and 
we pray that thou wilt be merciful to us as individuals, as fam- 
ilies, as congregations and as churches, and grant that soon again 
peace may come to our beloved land and war pass away, and that 
triumph and victory to the arms of these United States may be 
granted everywhere. We thank thee, Almighty God, for the sym- 
pathy of the great nation beyond the sea, and we pray that the day 
may come when these two great nations, lifted up in civilization 
above the other nations of the earth, shall be bound in still closer 
relations to one another ; and when the eyes of the world are 
upon this nation, and the eyes of the nations are upon this great 
republic, and the eyes of the eternal God are upon this land 
and upon us all, Lord, we pray that every one may be enabled 
to act his part aright, to live and act and work so that God may 
be glorified, and that there may to Father, Son and Holy Ghost 
be brought home a revenue of glory. God of our fathers, 
we thank thee for a united people. We would commend the 
whole country and all who are in authority to thy protecting, 
helpful and loving care, praying that thou wilt bless the 
land and bless the government. Bless those who are at the head 
of affairs; and at last when the storm shall have passed by and 
the war shall have gone into the past, may we all through the 
riches of grace in Christ Jesus be brought home to glory, to 
eternal life, and be permitted to sit down in the general assem- 



16 



bly and church of the first-born in heaven, and to join in the 
everlasting song of praise, and be forever with the Lord. We 
ask all for Jesus' sake. Amen. 



HYMN. 

O Lord of hosts, Almighty King, 
Behold the sacrifice we bring : 
To every arm Thy strength impart ; 
Thy Spirit shed through every heart. 

Be Thou a pillared flame to show 
The midnight snare, the silent foe ; 
And when the battle thunders loud, 
Still guide us in its moving cloud. 

God of all nations, Sovereign Lord, 
In Thy dread Name we draw the sword, 
We lift the starry flag on high 
That fills with light our stormy sky. 

From treason's rent, from murder's stain, 
Guard Thou its folds till peace shall reign, 
Till fort and field, till shore and sea, 
Join our loud anthem, — Praise to Thee. Amen. 



ADDRESS. 

REV. KERR B. TUPPER, D.D., LL.D., 

Pastor First Baptist Church. 

Recognizing that we are gathered this morning, not so much to 
talk with one another as to offer our petitions to God, who is 
the Lord of hosts and the Almighty King, as we have just sung, 
the God of our fathers, and the God and Father of our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is our inspiration and hope 
and stay and prop in this time of suspense, I desire to present 
and emphasize a single thought; and yet that a most fundamental 
and important thought, namely, our duty to be patriotic Chris- 



17 



tians and Christian patriots at this time ; the duty of every man 
to be faithful to his native or adopted country ; especially our 
duty to-day to be true to our land of priceless personal priv- 
ilege, of exalted social prerogative, of universal political equality, 
and, thank God, of absolute, joyous, unrestricted religious free- 
dom, — Duty ! There are some words in our English language so 
kingly and productive that you and I call them sovereign words. 
We never repeat them without feeling a thrill. We never 
comprehend one of them without experiencing an inspiration. 
Pascal's noted word was " virtue," Rothschild's " integrity/' 
Nelson's " glory," Garrison's " freedom," Jefferson's " democ- 
racy." All of these are large and magnificent words ; and yet 
I would have our attention directed to-day to a larger and more 
comprehensive word than any one of them or all of them com- 
bined—the word that some day is to control our politics, our 
religion, our intellect, our whole American life — and that the 
word " duty," upon which we should dwell so much to-day, — 
that which is due to myself, that which is due to my country. 
Let a real genuine American to-day feel its height and depth 
and length and breadth, and it will burn in his words, thrill in 
his tones, flash from his eyes, leap from his fingers, go from his 
heart to every other American heart, and make the man a maga- 
zine of power, as every one of us ought to be. Lord Nelson once 
raised his soldiers to a sense of their responsibilities by looking 
into their eyes, and through their eyes into their souls, and say- 
ing, " England expects every man to do his duty " ; and I have a 
high and holy ambition, as I stand before you this hour, to 
arouse every one of us to a sublime conviction that God expects 
every child of His love and adoption, every follower of His Son, 
every heir of the glories of immortality, to be true, honest, faith- 
ful to-day to our land. I changed the whole line of my thought 
after a conversation last night. I wanted to speak on the rela- 
tion of prayer to success ; but at the close of my sermon last 
night a man, unpatriotic, came up to me, and taking my hand 
said, " I don't see how you can pray for victory for our flag ; for 
my flag, as you call it, is no more to me than a piece of bunting." 



18 



The sentiment shocked me, and I decided that I should spend 
the little time I had this morning in emphasizing the duty of 
every one of us that is a real, genuine, heaven-inspired Christian 
to realize his obligation to his church but also to his country, 
to his Christianity but also to his citizenship, to his prayer- 
meeting but also to his polling-place, to eternity but also to time. 
No true Christians will have one religion for the church and 
another for the world, one gospel for Sunday and another for 
Monday, one conscience for the prayer-meeting and another 
for the polling-place, one religion for God and another for Cae- 
sar. The glory of that organ yonder is that all its keys respond 
to the master's touch. The glory of the organist is that he 
sweeps the whole board and brings out all of the harmonies. So 
the glory of every man that is a genuine Christian is that he 
maintains true relations to everything that he touches and to 
every circle he moves in, — to his home, his church, his nation, to 
politics and religion, to man and God; always true to things 
terrestrial just as he is true to things celestial. I am not 
one of those who believe that we ought to bring our politics 
into our religion ; but I clo believe with all my soul that we 
ought to bring our religion into our politics, if by religion we 
mean not sectarianism, but God's light in our soul. It is a sad 
thing for the sea to get into the ship. It is a glorious thing for 
the ship to get into the sea, especially if it is after the Spaniards ! 
Daniel Webster never said a truer thing than when he wrote, 
" That which would make a man a true Christian will always 
make him a true citizen." A little boy in school was once given 
the duty of writing a composition on salt, and he wrote this 
philosophic line : " Salt is that stuff that makes potatoes taste 
bad if you don't put some of it on 'em." Religion I believe is 
that element that makes our politics taste bad, look bad, be- 
come bad, if you and I, as children of God and heirs of immor- 
tailty, do not put some of it into them ; do not take the light 
God has given us and throw that light into our polluted political 
chambers, driving out the darkness and bringing more and more 
the light. God grant there may not be one here this morning 



19 



that shall ever say, as that gentleman, who is a resident of New 
York city by the way and not a Philadelphian, said yesterday 
to me concerning our flag. What a flag this is which our 
fathers, you remember, formed on the 14th day of July, 1777, 
as they reached up their patriotic hands, took a star out of the 
clouds and made a part of it, and the blue out of the firmament 
and made another part of it, and the blood out of the veins of 
American soldiers and made another part of it, and the purity 
from American womanhood and made another part of it, and then 
said, " In the name of God this red, white and blue shall always 
wave in starlike splendor as the symbol of liberty and law, 
equality and peace, fraternity and Christianity." 

And one of our supreme duties as American Christians is to 
pray for our land in its new crisis. If our war with Spain were 
a contest of territory, as were the battles of Alexander, I doubt 
if I should pray for it. If it were a contest for simple glory, 
as were the contests of Napoleon Bonaparte, I question if I 
should pray for it. If it were a contest of unbridled enthusiasm, 
as were the wars of the Crusaders, I doubt if I should pray 
for it with much earnestness. But when I see it a contest of 
right against wrong, of philanthropy against misanthropy, of 
liberty against slavery, of intelligence against superstition, then 
as a man that loves womanhood which is being assaulted, 
childhood which is being slain, I feel God Almighty calls upon 
me to hold up my heart and my hands reverently in His 
presence and say, " O thou God of battles, thou King and Prince 
of peace, send us light out of darkness, send us victory out of 
war, send us solace out of perplexity." It is our duty to be 
patriotic. It is our duty as Christian men and women to show 
our patriotism by our prayers. You remember when Ethelred, 
the king of the Northumbrians, invaded Wales with a view 
of giving battle to the Britons, he noticed over on the hill a 
body of unarmed men very close together, and he called to one 
of his staff and said, " Who are those ?" The man upon inquiry 
found that they were a body of Bangor monks that were on their 
knees offering their prayers for the victory of the Britons. Then 



20 



said Ethelred, " Let us attack them, for they have first attacked 
us. A prayer to their God may bring them the victory." I 
want us to be much on our knees, to be solemn and serious, and 
earnestly and reverently pray God that right may prevail, and 
the Lord of lords and King of kings may give the victory, as 
He will give it I predict in a very few weeks. 

Before closing I wish to thank Dr. Baker this morning, and 
this generous church, for their noble invitation to us to come 
here together as bodies of representative Christians in different 
parts of our city. When I received the invitation there came to 
my mind that fine picture of Lord Macaulay of the battle of 
Blenheim, as portrayed in his " Church and State." You know 
the battle was to be fought, but the four nations fighting together 
as allies were to pray separately one hour before they came ; and 
over in this part of the field the English met, and there, with 
Marlborough, according to the rites of the Church of England, 
they prayed God, ending all of their prayers with these words, 
" Great God, give us the victory." Over yonder the French 
met under Eugene, and they offered their prayers according to 
the rites of the Church of Rome, ending every prayer with the 
words " Great God, give us the victory." Over yonder the 
Danes met, and at their head Lutheran chaplains ; and they 
offered their prayers, ending every one with the words " Great 
God, give us the victory." Over here the Dutch met, and at 
their head a body of Calvinistic chaplains ; and they ended 
every prayer with the supplication " Great God, give us the vic- 
tory." They prayed there, there and there and there from six 
o'clock in the morning until seven. At seven the bugle blew. 
The English men came from that part of the field, the French 
from that part of the field, the Dutch from that part of the 
field, the Danes from that part of the field. They put shoulder* 
to shoulder. They united their hearts. They moved against 
the enemy after their prayer ; and Blenheim was won because 
the different representatives of the different nations became one. 
And here we are to-day representing different congregations, dif- 
ferent denominations of Christians, but all with a common trust 



21 



in a common Saviour, and pouring out our common supplica- 
tions that He who doeth all things well may aid us in our 
righteous cause, as we go to war, with one hand lifting intoler- 
able burdens, and with the other driving back infamous tyrannies. 
Go from this house to-day, I pray you, saying from the depths 
of hearts that are patriotic, the fearless and noble poet's lines : 

" Oh, who would not brave champions be 
In this the lordlier chivalry ? 
For there are hearts that ache to see 
The day dawn of our victory. 
Fight, brother, fight, with heart and brain. 
We'll win the golden day again, 
And love's millennial form shall rise 
O'er happy hearts and radiant eyes. 
I will, you will, brave champions be 
In this the lordlier chivalry." 



ADDRESS. 

REV. BISHOP WILLIAM K. NICHOLSON, D.D., 

St. Paul's Reformed Episcopal Church. 

It is said that brevity is the soul of wit, and certainly brevity 
is the soul of a prayer-meeting. We have already transcended 
the appointed limit for this meeting, and I do not feel like 
attempting to inflict upon this audience any elaborate remarks. 
I shall detain you but for a very brief moment. I have listened 
with the greatest pleasure to the several addresses which have 
been made to us. There have been touched and presented to us 
a series of very important thoughts ; but there is one thought I 
think that has hardly been touched to-day, although it has been 
referred to somewhat. Is it right to ask God's blessing upon 
war ? We have listened with great pleasure to what has been 
said about our duty to be in prayer for God's blessing upon our 
great cause, but the distinct point has not yet been I think defi- 
nitely presented, Is it right to ask God for His blessing upon 



22 



war ? War, as we all know, look on it as we may, is a dreadful 
thing beyond question. Channing said it is the sum of all evils. 
I hardly go with him in that; but I do believe that it is a 
dreadful thing, and therefore the question comes to us with a 
great deal of force, Is it Christian, is it right, to pray God to 
bless our arms in this war ? Now my answer to that is this : It 
is right, provided the war itself is right. And as I believe from 
my very heart that this war of ours is a thoroughly righteous 
war, I therefore can most heartily pray for God's blessing upon 
it. But in what very brief and simple way can we illustrate 
the thought that if the war is right it is right to ask God to bless 
it? As I think, very briefly and simply thus. The inspired 
apostle tells us that the magistrate beareth not the sword in vain. 
For what purpose does the magistrate bear the sword? He 
bears it in the interests of good order, morality and humanity. 
If the magistracy of a city like this should know of the occur- 
rence of outrageous cruelty within the bounds of our beloved 
city, would not that magistrate by very virtue of his existence 
as a magistrate be required by his duty to interfere, and, if neces- 
sary, to wield the sword in order to protect suffering humanity, 
or to advance the interest of good order ? Is not that perfectly 
true ? The magistrate, by God's own appointment, beareth the 
sword, and he beareth it not in vain. If a local magistracy is 
appointed of God to do this thing, then certainly, reasoning from 
the lesser to the greater, the national magistracy is under the 
very same obligation. The national magistracy wears the sword, 
and undoubtedly God says that the national magistracy beareth 
it not in vain. Can you conceive a difference between the 
two cases so far as principle is concerned ? If it was right to 
ask God's blessing upon the efforts of the local magistracy, then 
assuredly it is right to ask His blessing upon the efforts made in 
the interests of good order and humanity by the national magis- 
tracy. Our nation has been just in the condition of a local 
magistrate who observes, not far from his own doors, the occur- 
rence of some outrageous tyranny and oppression, and he feels 
prompted and is called upon by duty to interfere and to unsheath 



23 



the sword, if necessary. Our nation had almost at its very 
doors a scene of distress, of wretchedness, of tyranny, of oppres- 
sion, of starvation, than which, perhaps, this world has never 
seen anything very much greater, if as great ; and having this 
scene before it this nation felt that that state of things must stop, 
there must be an end to it. We could not suffer that condition 
of things to go on very much further, and so accordingly our 
nation entered into negotiations, diplomatic correspondence, with 
the nation of Spain. Our nation, represented by our noble 
President, exhibited all along forbearance, patient waiting, earn- 
est solicitation, begging the Spanish government to end that 
state of suffering. Our nation did not rush into the war. We 
observed the Scriptural rule, trying to see what could be done 
by negotiation, by conference, as it were. All that failed. It is 
not because the Maine was destroyed. We do not know that 
the Spanish authorities are responsible for that. We, I think, 
have pretty good evidence that it was sunk of design ; but that 
the Spanish authorities were involved in it we do not know, and 
so I deprecate the idea of raising the battle-cry, " Remember the 
Maine." No, that is not my theory. I want no scintillation 
even of revenge ; but our nation saw, and it was impressed be- 
yond expression by the suffering, the wretchedness, the tyranny, 
the starvation, that was prevailing in the land of Cuba, and the 
nation said, "If Spain will not stop this state of things, we 
must." Humanity prompted them, sympathy for suffering men 
and women. That was it. Is not the national magistracy 
required of Him who has invested it with the sword to interfere 
in a case like this? I cannot see it differently. I read the word 
of God with profoundest reverence, and every word of it comes 
to me as His own word ; but I do not see that the Bible for one 
moment puts an embargo upon the nation's waging war when the 
object in view is to rescue and take care of suffering humanity. 
It is right, but not only is it right, there is something more than 
that. I believe that our nation stands to-day, because of this 
war, before the eyes of Europe and the world in an attitude that 
is perfectly sublime. Not only has our nation gone into this 



24 



struggle from the motives I have just referred to, but our gov- 
ernment has taken pains to say, and I believe has said it in the 
utmost sincerity, " Not for acquisition of territory are we fight- 
ing, not for the glory of conquest are we fighting, but simply 
and solely to interfere for the uplifting of wretched and down- 
trodden humanity." I say it is sublime. My friends, what has 
ever happened like that since the days of Cromwell ? We 
remember from our reading of history what a magnificent posi- 
tion that man of destiny took with reference to the outrageous 
and infernal persecutions that were raging on the continent of 
Europe, how he said, simply and solely Avith that motive, 
" Unless those persecutions are stopped, I shall bring my Iron- 
sides upon you," and they were stopped. There is nothing I 
think like the present attitude of this nation since the days of 
Cromwell. It is glorious. My heart burns with gratitude to 
God for this noble position taken and held by our national 
government, and therefore, as I said I should be brief, I close 
with saying that I can pray most heartily for God's blessing 
upon our arms — our arms on land and our arms on the ocean ; 
and more than that, I can ask His blessing upon this cause for 
the very same reason that I can ask it upon myself, upon my 
friends, upon the sick and the suffering ; I can make the very 
same plea, and earnestly I make that plea, that because of and 
for the sake of the atoning blood and the beautifying righteous- 
ness of Christ, O God, bless our arms and give us victory. 



OFFERTORY. 

(For the National Relief Commission.) 

" O rest in the Lord," Mendelssohn. 

Miss Eeba Brice Whitecab,. 

O rest in the Lord : wait patiently for Him, and He shall give thee thy 
heart's desires. Commit thy way unto Him, and trust in Him, and fret not 
thyself because of evil doers. 

Psaem 37 : 1, 7. 



25 



PRAYER. 

REV. J. ADDISON HENRY, D.D., 

Pastor Princeton Presbyterian Church. 

O God, we have entered into thy courts with thanksgiving, 
and we humbly beseech thee that thou wilt now dismiss us with 
thy richest blessing. We have spoken, we have prayed, we have 
given. Regard our efforts, O God, and bestow thy benedictions 
now upon us as we are about to separate. We would remember 
upon this Memorial Day those for whom it was appointed, those 
who appointed it, the veterans of our army, the army of the 
Union. They are with us still, many of them. We see them 
on our streets, we meet them in our homes, they are in our 
churches. They have done the work of the nation, and done 
it faithfully. They contended for that which was right and 
just and true, and now, God of mercy and of grace, bless them 
in their old age. May the country never forget them; and 
we beseech thee that the people may always remember them, 
and may do what they can to make their lives joyful and pleas- 
ant even down to the very close. Bless them in their homes. 
Remember them, we beseech thee, in their social relations ; 
and, God of mercy, may they all at last be with that blessed 
number who shall have come out of great tribulation, and shall 
have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of 
the Lamb. We are here to pray for our nation to-day. We are 
engaged in war. We are clear that the cause is a righteous one, 
or we would not have come here to-day unitedly thus to pray. 
We are here therefore to pray for victory. We beseech thee 
that thou wilt give us a victory, a speedy victory, a glorious vic- 
tory, and then give to us lasting peace. We humbly beseech 
thee, O God, that thou wilt be with the young men and with 
those who are older, who are contending for that which is right 
and just and true at this present time. Bless the young men in 
the navy and in the army, and all those who are their leaders, 
the generals and colonels and captains, every one who is an 
officer in the army, and every private. May their lives and 



26 



health be precious in thy sight. Guard them, O God, and de- 
fend them, and then send them to their homes honored and 
rejoicing, and may we honor them and feel that they have done 
our work nobly and truly. But, O God, we would not forget 
those who are named as our enemies. Have mercy, O God, 
upon the Spaniards. Grant that thy richest blessings may rest 
upon that country, Spain. May it be enlightened, may it be 
opened for divine truth and for evangelical religion ; and we 
pray, O God, that out of confusion and out of disasters there 
may come joy and light and glory to that great country, and 
then may we go hand in hand to do the work of God in 
the days and generations which are to come. O God, bless 
thy church, and as we are here together from the different 
branches of the church, smile upon us, and may it be to us a 
token for good. May we feel that thus we are bound more 
closely together, and that we have the evidence of true Christian 
union, and may we feel that it is for us to pray that that may be 
increased, even though uniformity should never be seen by us. 
O God, the eyes of the city, the eyes of the nation, the eyes of 
the world, are upon us. We know not but that the eye of the 
universe may be upon us, unseen intelligences may witness us. 
Wherefore, seeing that we are compassed about with so great 
a cloud of witnesses, may we lay aside every weight and the sin 
which doth so easily beset us, and may we run with patience the 
race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and 
finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him 
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the 
right hand of the throne of God. Hear our prayer, as we offer 
it to thee in the language of our blessed Saviour, Our Father 
which art in heaven : Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom 
come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us 
this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we 
forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into 
temptation; but deliver us from evil: For thine is the king- 
dom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 



27 



HYMN. 

God bless our native land ; 
Firm may she ever stand 

Through storm and night : 
When the wild tempests rave, 
Ruler of wind and wave, 
Do Thou our country save 

By Thy great might. 

For her our prayers shall rise 
To God, above the skies ; 

On Him we wait ; 
Thou who art ever nigh 
Guarding with watchful eye, 
To Thee aloud we cry, 

God save the state. Amen. 



BENEDICTION. 

REV. BISHOP NICHOLSON. 

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep our 
hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of His 
Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and the blessing of God Almighty, 
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst us and 
remain with us always. 



Organist and Director of Music, 
SHEPPARD KOSCIUSKO KOLLOCK. 



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D0B3S BROS. 

LIBRARY BINDING 




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OCT 69 

ST. AUGUSTINE 




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